from the editor's desk

We've reached one of those crossroads in which we've got all sorts of things to talk about, but not a whole lot to show for it, and it's as frustrating for us as as writers as it is for you as readers.
We could go on all day about the HTC One. (And, no, we're not done poring over it just yet, so expect a few more features this week.) We could talk till the cows come home about the Galaxy S4. But...

The recurring theme running through my head the past few days is, obviously, the headline for this column. Timing is everything. OK, maybe not everything in the mobile business -- hardware and software still count for something -- but timing is still damned important.
That's particularly true when launching a new smartphone. Last week's Samsung Galaxy S4 event in New York City offered any...

The thing about trade shows is that you know there's a pretty good chance you're going to come down with something afterward. Between the travel and being crammed into a venue with 50,000 or so people for a week, germs happen. But, man, the post-show plague got me good this year following Mobile World Congress. Fortunately, I'm back to the land of the living. And it's a working weekend, too, as...

We're back, once again, for Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. This is my fourth year here. And like previous years, this one appears poised to present its own challenges as well as opportunities to showcase new tech.
On one had it's easy to look at the schedule, what we know is coming -- and what we think we know is coming -- and shrug it off. HTC, usually the highlight (or at least...

Flights are booked, bags are packed and passports are in hand. February inevitably becomes one wild tech ride, and 2013's not disappointing. Consider:
Feb. 19: HTC events in New York and London, and something in Sydney as well. The consensus is that we'll see the fabled "M7," possibly called the "HTC One."
Feb. 20: Not strictly Android-related, but Sony's got something going on -- most...

So Mobile Nations Fitness Month is in full swing, for better or worse. Better, because some of us need any help we can get to get off our asses and exercise, even just a little. Worse, because often is a pretty busy month for us, and 2013 has been no exception. I'm trying a Nike Fuel Band this year. The gamification is OK (reaching your Fuel Points goal is fine, I guess), but the bracelet is...

As is so often the case in life, the little things can make a big difference. I was worried that our little Valentines Day contest -- we're giving away a pair of Nexus 7s and Nexus 4s -- would come off as too cheesy. Sappy, even for me, a guy who grew up believing John Cusack's "Better Off Dead" was actually a preferred way for high school to pan out. (Sadly, I played trombone instead of the sax...

Instead of using this sentence to write a proper lede, quite possibly with (or without) a bit of wit, can we agree to stipulate that there are what I believe to be a few decent thoughts on the other side of this post, past that "Read more" thing that does double duty of breaking up a long-ish post and keeping the front page clean while, yes, requiring you to add one more click to your...

I have absolutely no idea how it happened, but January is quickly coming to close. And that means February -- and Mobile Nations Fitness Month -- is nearly upon us. Last year was a dismal failure. OK, maybe not "dismal" -- I'm not sure I failed at it anymore than I've failed at anything else I didn't actually really do. We're going to give it another shot this year, never mind that I'll be on...

That's it. Same old picture from Building 44 in Mountain View. No cool picture of yours truly on the Las Vegas strip. No shot from the CES floor, or with a stack full of chips. Just the same ol' picture we're all tired of seeing. Being sick at CES sucks, more so than the inevitable plague that follows you home.
I don't have much more to say about CES that we haven't already said. I'm real...

As we close out the year, it's time to take a look back at things. I've never been all that keen on "year's best" lists for applications, though that doesn't mean they don't necessarily serve a purpose. There are so many good apps, so many updates. Instead, I think it's a little more fun to take a look at how each one of us uses our phones and tablets.
Are they travel companions? I, for one,...

Ah, Christmas Eve. The day we remind our kids that they still have to be good for at least one more day, and remind ourselves that a little extra patience probably wouldn't hurt anyone. Easier said than done, for sure. But it's more important than ever to take a step back, take a breath, and keep some perspective.
In keeping with the spirit of things, here's my naughty and nice list.

I don't much feel like writing about phones this weekend. Instead, I'll paraphrase a Facebook post from an old friend of mine from high school who leads a congregation in Nebraska:
It's so easy to say, "My heart/prayers goes out." How about this: Here's the address for Sandy Hook Elementary School: 12 Dickenson Drive, Sandy Hook, CT 06482.
Take five minutes. Sit down with your kid. Write a...

With the year winding down and my plate relatively clear of any review work (mad props to Alex and Anndrew and Andrew and Jerry and everyone else for helping make that happen), I've been spending more time in the forums. That's where any one of us here will tell you the real work happens. Questions come in, questions get answered. Tips are proffered. Sweeping how-to threads are created. It's...

Good lord, it's December already. How did that happen? That means we've got about a month before CES in Las Vegas. For you new folks, CES is the first major event of the year, though it's definitely more focused on consumer electronics than mobile. But that doesn't mean there won't be more than enough to keep us busy.
We might still see a minor release or two this month, but more than likely we'...

There's a reason why I tend to post stories on Google+ about the traditional journalism industry. For one, it's where I came from. There are days I miss it. But there are so many more days that I don't. Another reason is that what we do here is rooted in it. Not just us, but every tech blog, regardless of its background.
But really, for me, this job is fun. And we try to keep it that way. Make...

We're inundated with a couple really new phones -- namely the Nexus 4 and the Droid DNA -- and that means it's a working weekend ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. It's also decision time for a lot of people. Get a Nexus 4? Get a Droid DNA? What about the Galaxy S3 or the Galaxy Note 2? And AT&T's still powering ahead with the One X+ and One VX.
Some quick thoughts to send...

Do these guys know how to party on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, or what?
As California was just getting ready to go out for the night, and Taiwan was just starting its morning, a joint press release came from Apple and HTC, announcing a cease-fire from the former after the latter licensed all current and future patents for the next 10 years. Don't discount the scope of that agreement. That's...

"What's it going to be like?" That was the question my wife posed to me sometime around Sept. 13 or 14 in 2004, just a couple days before Hurricane Ivan thrashed this part of the Gulf Coast -- and just some 56 hours before we were to be married. The answer, unfortunately. People were going to lose their homes, I told her. People were going to die. Beaches would erode, heritage trees would fall,...

Ladies and gentlemen, Microsoft is back.
I wasn't sure we'd ever have reason to write those words again, and Microsoft's not yet all the way back. But it's absolutely taking the right steps. And for the first time since I began worrying about this sort of stuff, Microsoft appears to actually have some direction, some common goal.
Google easily made the right call by canceling Monday's "...

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